WHAT? Make MORE Money(MMM) by booking LESS work? Uh-oh! “Steve has been sniffing the solvent spotters again!” But hear me out…
The first six of our SFS “TOP TEN Ways to Make More Money(MMM) from Each Job” absolutely will MMM for you! BUT most of them do require more (highly profitable) time to be spent in the home. So our MMM #4 tip is to on average …
Book one less job per day!
Whoa! Isn’t booking less jobs per day going to Make you LESS Money instead of More Money? No. Most carpet cleaners book their employees (and themselves) way too tight! This leaves little time sell (much less perform) Additional Service Options and even LESS time to DO the actual work you sell! So try this TIP next week: Restrain yourself from cramming in “just one more job”! My guess is you (and your technicians) will have:
1. More time to display a “sincere attitude of care and concern” with the home owner- SFS attendees learn that 80% of how the client decides if you did a “good job” or a “bad job” is based on how they FEEL about the person actually doing the work. So want to MMM on each job? Then slooooow down and deliver positive Moments of Truth that will create a Cheerleader customer. Once you have developed this Cheerleader you’ll have…
2. More time to “consult” with your client- Cheerleaders don’t need to be “up-sold”. In fact, they are eager to spend more money with your company IF they know about the services you offer. (I always loved watching a homeowner-technician relationship morph into a “caring consultation”.) Of course, you also need new clients and a great way to get them is to have …
3. More time to do “same day” and “next day” jobs- I always cringe when carpet cleaners brag about being “booked solid” three weeks out. Some of my best clients originally came to us when we “fitted them in” at the last minute. By leaving some “flex time” open each day we gained this “urgent business” plus we had …
4. More time for emergency water losses- It is all about fast response in restoration and if you are facing an over-booked week with 12 hour days well … enough said! And finally by not overloading your employees they will have…
5. More time with their families. Sure, techs want that big paycheck overtime brings in. But constantly overworking your people burns them out. So raise your prices, book them one less job per day and dramatically increase their “up-sell bonus”. The result? Everyone will MMM, your techs will have an “energy reserve” for emergency work and your clients will love you because … you and your people are spending more time on each job!
Steve Toburen
PS: Many SFS members originally questioned my sanity when I proposed this “Book One Less Job Per Day” concept! So go ahead! Beat me up in the comments section below…
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What do you consider dramatically increasing their “upsell bonus”? I already pay 30% of the upsell.
Actually 30% is pretty good. (In my informal surveys among SFS members 15% seems to be the average.) So if you are still not getting a good return on upsells from your employees I’d look at training reminders such as weekly sessions with skits, etc.
Plus to motivate them further why not run a monthly contest? The Tech with the highest % of ScotchGard upsells wins an Ipad, etc. Sometimes employees respond better to a fun competition than they do to cold, hard cash. Just a thought.
Steve
PS Now with all this “upsell motivation” (which is good) it is essential to keep your techs in check re: never high-pressuring the client (BAD!) in their Inner Sanctum, the home. See my Special Report: “Up-selling ScotchGard on the Home Front” for thoughts on how to walk this thin line.